The Five Scarves - Scarves Rivals Part 2
by RaceProUK
Summary: (Book 2 of 3, Part 2 of 5) While taking a break from dealing with her best friend's issues, Maria Shanmao unexpectedly finds a friendly rival in Sash Lilac's best friend, Carol Tea. Turns out both the lynx and the wildcat have a love of speed, bikes, and competition.
1. Chapter 1

[3.5 years before the Brevon Incident]

Mid-morning, and the Red Scarves vehicle workshop is atypically quiet. The only occupant is a lone olive lynx, browsing a line of motorbikes built specifically for off-road riding. Walking down the line of low-power bikes she's spent the last year and a half riding, she proceeds to the more powerful models normally reserved for the veterans and seniors. Stopping by a model with a deep cherry red finish, the lynx looks around her. Seeing she's still alone, she mounts the bike. A few seconds later, she fires the engine into life, the exhaust rumbling promisingly.

"Have you ridden a bike as powerful as that one before?" a rust-brown macaque asks, appearing from behind a nearby bike.

The lynx jumps in surprise, almost falling off the bike, though she rights herself just in time. "No, but it can't be that hard. Meanie, Fluff-tail, and Blondie make it look easy."

 _Meanie, Fluff-tail, and Blondie? Must be nicknames for her friends._ "It's trickier than it looks," the macaque explains as he stands and approaches the lynx. "You get more grip from the bigger tyres, but the greater power from the V-twin makes them harder to control. You've also got gears to deal with. This model has a five-speed manual shift instead of the CVT on the lesser single-cylinder bikes." The macaque then points to a couple of levers on the bike. "The lever is by your left foot: up to shift up, and down to shift down. There's also a clutch lever on the left handle, but you'll only need that for setting off. On change-down, it'll blip the throttle for you."

"Sounds simple," the lynx thinks aloud. "Ish."

"You get used to it very quickly," the macaque assures. "Few take longer than half an hour."

"I'm a fast learner," the lynx replies confidently. "Plus I can use the test track next door."

"Good idea," the macaque agrees. "I just need your name to record the bike's checked out."

"Maria Shanmao," the lynx answers.

"Ah yes," the macaque nods. "I should have guessed based on how you referred to your friends."

"Am I really that well known?" Maria blushes.

"You're an unusual person, even for a group as richly diverse as the Red Scarves," the macaque smiles kindly. "Such uniqueness gets noticed."

"Thanks, I think," Maria replies, a little unsure whether the macaque really was complimentary.

"I meant no offense," the macaque assures, sensing Maria's hesitance.

"In that case, none taken," Maria smiles, visibly relieved.

"Anything else you need?" the macaque asks.

Maria thinks for a moment. "No, I'm good to go."

"Then I shall get out of your way," the macaque decides, stepping to one side. "Oh, before I forget," he adds. "There's a couple of girls already at the test track, and I got the impression they like to race. I recommend you try not to get in their way."

"They're not icky meanies, are they?" Maria asks, concerned.

"No, not at all," the macaque assures. "They're actually pretty friendly. I just got the feeling they take their racing seriously, and would prefer not to be interrupted."

"I'll do my best to give them space," Maria promises. She then revs the engine, lets out the clutch… and stalls. "Oh poo."

"Everyone stalls the first time," the macaque winks.

Maria nods an acknowledgement. She then restarts the engine and pulls away, bunny-hopping a little. Once the bike settles and she's pointed at the right exit, Maria carefully opens the throttle and rides out to the track.


	2. Chapter 2

As Maria makes her way onto the test track, she can hear the raw bark of a V-twin being pushed to its limits. Realising the engine is getting closer, she stops abruptly at the edge of the track to let it pass before venturing out herself. Moments later, her decision is vindicated as two blurs flash past, one purple, one green.

With the coast clear, Maria joins the track and fully opens the throttle. The rear tyre grips immediately. Inertia causes the front to lift, throwing Maria off the bike as it flips backwards and comes to a rest a few feet away, stalling as it slides to a halt. _Well, that was dignified._ Maria picks herself up and recovers the bike. A few moments later, she's riding at pace, and within five laps, she's developed a feel for how the bike behaves. As her confidence builds, she pushes harder. And after another five laps, she's lapping less than five seconds slower than the two blurs.

On her eleventh lap however, she pushes too hard and overcooks her entry to the hairpin. The rear tyre loses grip and slides wide. Maria loses her balance, landing on her side. She and the bike slide off the track and onto the run-off. The bike hits the barrier first, Maria colliding a few seconds later a few feet away.

Moments later, as they arrive at the turn, the purple and green blurs slow right down and turn to help the dazed lynx. "Are you OK?" the green blur asks as the purple blur checks for a pulse.

"Ow," Maria groans, stiffly shifting into a seated position. A few moments later, the blurs resolve themselves into a familiar dragon-girl and an unfamiliar two-tone green wildcat astride a scarlet V-twin almost identical to Maria's.

"Anything broken?" the dragon asks Maria.

Maria checks her limbs all still bend in the correct directions. "No, just a bit bruised and sore." She then realises who the dragon is. "Oh, hi Sash! Who's your friend?"

"Carol the Wildcat!" Carol answers before Sash has a chance. "You were pretty handy on that thing before you crashed," she adds with a cheeky grin.

"First time on something that powerful," Maria admits, blushing slightly. "Don't really know what happened… I guess I lost the rear?"

"You musta been goin' pretty hot into the turn to lose the rear on one of these bad boys," Carol theorises. "If you're gonna go in that hot, you gotta trail-brake, or it'll snap on ya."

"Trail-brake?" Maria asks, confused.

"Jus' tap the rear brake as you feel the back slide out," Carol explains. "Jus' enough to keep the grip though. Brake too much, and you'll lock up instead, and it'll slam you into the tarmac so hard you'll break something."

"Carol, if you carry on like that, you'll scare her off bikes completely," Sash admonishes kindly.

"It's OK," Maria assures them both. "I've faced scarier things."

"Like what?" Carol asks.

"…I'd rather not say," Maria answers quietly.

"Then we won't pry any further," Sash assures. "Isn't that right, Carol?"

Carol shrugs nonchalantly. "Sure."

Relieved, Maria gets up and retrieves her bike. She mounts and tries to start it, but it refuses to co-operate. "Oh poo, I think I broke it."

"Let's have a look," Carol volunteers, shutting off her own bike and dismounting. Maria dismounts as Carol crouches by the damaged bike to inspect it. In less than a minute, Carol makes a few little adjustments and repairs, then mounts the bike, starting it on the first attempt. "There we go! Purring like… well, like me!" she grins as she dismounts and returns to her own bike.

"Thanks!" Maria grins in reply. "Hey, do you mind helping me learn how to get the best out of this thing?"

"I'd love to," Carol answers, "but we're in the middle of-"

"We can race again later," Sash interrupts. "Plus, I still feel like I owe Maria a favour after hurting her so badly in that tournament."

"I wasn't _that_ badly hurt," Maria assures. "Just a dislocated shoulder, and that was fine a few days later. And you did visit me and apologise, and I did forgive you."

"I know," Sash smiles. "Still, I see no reason to stand in the way of someone getting help when they asked for it. Plus, I have to admit I'm curious if you can be faster than Carol."

"Thanks," Maria smiles. "Hang on," she adds a moment later, "I just realised: you don't have a bike!"

Sash blushes a little. "Yeah… I can run fast. And I mean _really_ fast."

"Cool!" Maria chirps. "How fast can you go? Can you run faster than sound? How do you not get tired really quickly?"

Sash laughs kindly. "No-one can run faster than sound, it's impossible. But I can keep up with most types of vehicles, at least for a while. As for not getting tired quickly, I'm afraid I can't explain why."

"Aw," Maria sighs in disappointment. "You're still really cool though. Pity the meanie can't see that…"

"Ah yes, Hanna Skarlett," Sash sighs in return. "She's quite… opinionated, that's for sure. Ah well, if she chooses to hate me, then that's her issue," she shrugs.

"It doesn't bother you?" Maria asks.

"Nah," Sash replies. "I'm too busy having fun to worry about it."

"Shall we get started?" Carol asks Maria, restarting her bike and revving the engine.

"Sure!" Maria chirps, revving her bike in response.


	3. Chapter 3

For the next two hours, Maria does laps in batches of six with Carol following. After every batch, Carol gives Maria advice on how to improve her technique and how to correct when the bike starts to slide. And by the time Sash returns with lunches, Maria has improved her times to within two seconds of Carol's best.

As the girls settle down to lunch in the trackside garage, Sash cannot help but satiate her curiosity about the events of the previous day. "So, what was that ruckus between Hanna and Rob yesterday?" she asks Maria. "Heard it caused quite a stir."

"They've been at each other for a while now," Maria sighs. "They haven't had a successful mission together for weeks."

"Why do they keep gettin' paired together then?" Carol asks.

"That's the silliest thing: they _choose_ to be paired," Maria explains.

"That makes no sense," Sash agrees. "Why work with someone you can't work with?"

"They used to work together amazingly well though," Maria laments. "They pulled off some amazing heists, including stuff more experienced Scarves failed at."

"I heard about some of them during training," Sash reveals. "Some of the seniors wanted to see someone take Hanna down a few pegs. I think they were jealous of her successes."

"Don't tell the meanie I said this, but you are a better fighter than her," Maria compliments. "And she did need taking down a few pegs. She's my best friend, and I owe her more than I'll ever repay, but she's also arrogant to the point of silliness."

"Thanks, but I wouldn't say I'm a better fighter," Sash admits. "Being a dragon means I have abilities others will never have."

"Like that thing where you spin into a ball and shoot forward as if fired out of a cannon?" Maria asks.

"I call it the 'Dragon Boost'," Sash reveals. "I think the only way anyone could match it if they're not a dragon is if they have some sort of magic crystal that gives them superpowers."

"Like that'll happen!" Maria giggles, Sash and Carol joining in a moment later.

Ten minutes later, with lunch finished, the two felines elect to nap for an hour before hitting the track again.

* * *

After a couple more hours of practice, Maria is now within half a second of Carol's best. Unable to offer any more advice, Carol decides to monitor Maria's performance from the track's timing station.

"Afraid she might beat your lap record?" Sash teases, joining Carol with a couple of drinks as Maria begins another run.

 _A little._ "Nah," Carol dismisses.

"She's getting pretty close though," Sash reminds.

Carol doesn't respond.

The girls watch in silence as Maria consistently puts in laps within half a second of Carol's best. Then, on the fifth lap, Maria finds some more time.

"Huh," Sash comments. "That's interesting."

"So she beat me by a few hundredths," Carol shrugs. "She won't maintain it."

But Maria does maintain it. In fact, she gets even faster, maxing out at six-tenths quicker than Carol's best.

"Darn it!" Carol comments as Maria ends her run. "She really _is_ faster than me!"

A minute later, a weary yet excited Maria joins Sash and Carol in at timing station. "How did I do? How did I do?" she asks eagerly.

"Pretty good," Carol states. "Your lines were spot on, your apexes clean, and you were consistent."

"You were also faster than her," Sash adds.

"Really?" Maria gasps in disbelief.

"…yeah," Carol reluctantly admits.

" _Woo!_ " Maria cheers, hugging Carol. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

"Easy there!" Carol chuckles, accepting her fate. "Of course, now I have to go out there and beat your time," she adds playfully.

"And then I'll go out and beat that," Maria retorts cheekily, breaking the hug.

"If you can," Carol teases in reply.

"Sounds to me like a rivalry brewing!" Sash observes, smiling in amusement.

"Oh poo," Maria sighs.

"What's wrong?" Sash asks.

"I don't want this to turn nasty," Maria admits.

"It won't turn nasty," Carol assures. "I promise."

"Pinkie swear?" Maria asks.

"Pinkie swear," Carol agrees.


	4. Chapter 4

As the months pass, Maria and Carol continue their rivalry. At times it gets very intense, but as promised, it always remains civil. However, both felines gradually find it harder to maintain their rivalry, due both to their Scarves commitments and Maria's desire to keep their rivalry secret from Hanna. And after just a year and a half, the rivalry ceases completely when Maria moves out of HQ and to Jade Creek with her friends Danny Brock and Xander Lykos.

* * *

[14 months before the Brevon Incident]

Maria arrives at HQ a little after lunch. After parking her trike hastily, she dashes towards the armoury, specifically to the bladesmith. Bursting through the door, she catches the marmot by surprise. He instinctively reaches for the nearest blade, raising it to defend before dropping the tip to ankle-height when he sees Maria.

"Knock next time, will you?" the marmot snaps.

"Sorry," Maria apologises, making the cutest and most innocent expression she can.

The marmot's mood softens immediately. "It's OK," he admits. "No harm done. I take it you're Maria Shanmao?"

"The one and only!" Maria chirps. "Is my sword ready?"

"Of course," the marmot replies, picking a sheathed ninjato from the rack behind him. "I guess you can't wait to try it out, eh?" he asks as he hands the weapon over.

Maria takes the sword and unsheathes it, examining the blade as it comes out. "It's so _shiny!_ " she purrs, admiring her reflection.

"Glad you like it," the marmot smiles.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later in the Scarves mess hall, Maria is halfway through a late lunch when a fellow viridian feline silently hops onto the seat next to her. Sensing someone's presence, Maria turns to see the beaming face of Carol Tea.

"Long time no see!" Carol greets. "New sword?"

"Hi!" Maria chirps. "Yeah, just picked it up. It's really shiny!"

"Cool!" Carol grins, sliding into the seat properly.

"You should get one," Maria suggests.

"Nah," Carol dismisses. "They're not really my style. I tell you what is my style though," she winks.

"It's been a long time since we last raced," Maria admits. "It'll be good to hit the track again."

* * *

A few hours later, and Carol and Maria are relaxing at the test track's timing station after a lot of hard but fair racing.

"I missed this so much," Maria admits.

"Me too," Carol agrees. "Been good practice for the Shang Mu TT."

"The what?" Maria asks, a little surprised.

"Only the greatest bike race in the three kingdoms!" Carol exclaims. "Want to enter?"

"But we're too young!" Maria states, even more surprised.

"We're in the headquarters of the largest criminal organisation on Avalice," Carol reminds. "We'll get IDs forged!"

"I'm still not sure…"

"It'll be fine," Carol assures.

"I hope so," Maria thinks aloud. "So long as we don't get into trouble."

Carol simply returns a teasing expression of disbelief.

"Yeah, that was a silly thing to say," Maria admits, blushing slightly.

"So, you in?" Carol asks eagerly.

Maria thinks for a few moments. "OK," she agrees. "When is it?"

"Four weeks."

"Four weeks?"

"Yep."

"That's so close…"

"Eh, plenty of time to practice!"

"I hope so…"


	5. Chapter 5

During the four weeks between Carol's suggestion and the race itself, both felines spend as much time as possible practicing, sometimes together, sometimes solo. Maria starts with one of the Scarves' stock bikes, but soon procures her own, electing to forgo the technicality of paying for it. And her reservation over being too young is extinguished when she finds out that there's a class open to racers as young as fourteen, for which Carol uses a fake ID to successfully gain entry.

Seven days before the race, Carol and Maria get their first look at the track itself. At nine and a half miles long, it starts in front of the Town Hall, passing through the large public park a few blocks away before turning towards Zao's Mall, then returning to the Town Hall via a high-speed inner-city freeway. The fastest class would be expected to lap the circuit in under six minutes; in contrast, the class Carol and Maria have entered would see times around nine minutes on their less powerful machines.

After a morning of sighter laps, Carol and Maria spend the lunch break studying the track map in a quiet corner of the paddock. Both are feeling extremely nervous, yet neither is willing to admit or even show it.

Eventually, Maria can hold it in no longer. "I admit it: I'm scared."

Carol breathes a sigh of relief. "Good t'know it's not just me."

"There's a lot to remember on this track," Maria continues. "And there's some nasty sections, especially this really icky one here," she adds, pointing to a highly technical complex of corners about six miles into the lap.

"The approach to that is very fast," Carol observes. "But then that's part of the fun!" she adds with a grin.

"You're almost as bad as the meanie!" Maria giggles.

 _The meanie? Oh yeah, Hanna._ "I'll be honest, it's not the complex that worries me," Carol admits. "It's this series of fast sweepers through the park that has my fur on end. Lose it there, and…"

"I know what you mean," Maria agrees. "But we don't have to fight for the class win."

"You mean, keep the race between ourselves?"

"Exactly."

"Where's the fun in that?" Carol asks. "Are you really sayin' you don't want that big shiny trophy?"

 _Ancients darn it!_ "…OK, I admit I want the big shiny trophy," Maria admits.

"Thought so," Carol smiles.

* * *

During the afternoon, Carol and Maria make the most of the limited practice time available to them. By the end of the day, they're approaching podium pace.

* * *

Seven days later, it's race day, and the first race on the schedule is the class Carol and Maria have entered. As the start time approaches, the two felines are in the paddock, making a few last minute adjustments to their bikes.

" _All entrants for race one, please proceed to the grid,_ " the tannoy echoes.

"No turnin' back now," Carol comments as she downs tools and collects her gear.

"Good luck, and may the best kitty win," Maria replies.


	6. Chapter 6

As Carol and Maria take their places on the grid, the rest of the twenty-five competitors form up around them in five slanted rows of five. Despite it being the first race on the schedule and starting relatively early in the morning, there's a healthy crowd eagerly anticipating the start. Mayor Zao however is absent, as he is focussing on the headline event.

Soon after all the riders are in position, the start official shows the thirty-second board. Twenty-five V-twins fire up almost in unison. As the engine notes settle, Maria looks across the track from her fifth place slot to Carol in the sixth-place slot. Carol grins and gives a thumbs up; Maria returns the gesture.

The start official shows the ten-second board. At five seconds, the engine noise crescendos as the lighting gantry activates.

At zero seconds, the lights go out.

Twenty-five V-twin motorcycles launch off the grid in a blend of engine noise and tyre smoke. Jostling for position, they approach the first corner. As they turn in, Maria attempts to gain a position. However, the gap disappears, and she has to back off. The bike twitches as she touches the brakes, but she retains control and exits the corner cleanly. Moments later, Carol's better exit allows her to pass Maria.

Over the remainder of the first nine-minute lap, the two felines swap positions several times. While their battling means they fall away a little from the leading four, they're still able to open a sizeable gap to the chasing pack.

As they begin the second lap, the heavens open. In less than a minute, all nine and a half miles of the track is soaking wet. But the rain doesn't seem to slow Carol. Her ability to find grip is uncanny, and she begins to reel in the leading pack. Maria however is more affected. Halfway around the second lap, she's fallen almost five seconds behind Carol, a gap which widens to a full twelve seconds by the end of the lap.

 _I'm losing too much time: I need to push harder!_ Doing her best to ignore how wet she is, Maria hunkers down and pushes harder than she's pushed before. Seeking out the best grip, her unusual lines begin to reel Carol in, an achievement helped by Carol being slowed by her battling with another racer over fourth position. By the halfway point of the lap, Maria has cut the deficit by more than half to just over five seconds. With the duelling wildcat in sight, Maria settles into following the battle, deciding to wait for an opportunity to pass both Carol and her opponent. And over the next three minutes, Maria cuts her deficit to just two and a half seconds.

As Maria catches, Carol's battle with the beaver intensifies. Out of frustration, the beaver starts to play dirty: on three separate occasions, he cuts across Carol so hard the wildcat almost crashes. But this doesn't slow Carol down, it just makes her more determined to pass and pull away. Eventually, two-thirds of the way around the lap, Carol spots her best chance yet. Braking hard for a hairpin, Carol dives up the inside from ten feet behind. As the beaver turns in, Carol cuts in front of him. The beaver is forced to correct, triggering a wobble. Carol runs deep, but manages to make the move stick. She powers out of the corner and opens a one second gap as the beaver recovers.

With the beaver's line highly compromised, Maria closes right up to him mostly thanks to her near-perfect line through the same hairpin. With better speed, she makes her own move into the next turn. But the beaver isn't expecting the move. He turns in and collides heavily with Maria, dropping them both hard onto the tarmac and sliding towards the barrier.

The accident happens so fast Maria doesn't notice until the pair have slid to a halt just a few feet from the barrier. Shaking her head to clear her disorientation, she realises she's pinned under both bikes. But as she moves to extract herself, she feels a heavy boot pushing on her chest. She looks up to see the beaver is holding her down, anger in his eyes.

"You ruined my race," the beaver hisses, shifting his weight over Maria.

"It was… an accident!" Maria pleads, struggling a little to breathe.

The beaver shifts his boot so the tip is pressing hard on Maria's throat. "I'll be the judge of that," he growls maliciously.

Maria can only gasp desperately for air as the beaver strangles her.


	7. Chapter 7

Maria scrabbles furiously, trying to dislodge the beaver's boot. The beaver responds by shifting his full weight over the boot, crushing Maria's windpipe. Unable to breathe, Maria starts to panic. As she begins to black out, training and instinct kick in. Extending her claws fully, she slashes the beaver's shin several times rapidly. With a yelp of pain, the beaver jumps backwards, bleeding freely from several deep gashes.

Coughing and spluttering, Maria rolls onto her side and breathes deeply. Her senses come back to her just in time to block the beaver's revenge charge. She catches the beaver's attempted kick with both hands, stopping it dead. Without pause, Maria twists the boot hard. The beaver is thrown off-balance and falls, hitting the tarmac heavily. Having bought herself a few moments, Maria wastes no time extracting herself from under the bikes. And by the time the beaver is back on his feet, Maria is ready in a combat stance.

"You're gonna get it now!" the beaver growls.

Maria doesn't respond. She simply smiles wickedly.

The beaver charges, aiming a swinging punch at Maria's head, but the lynx neatly sidesteps the charge. The beaver skids to a halt and turns into a second charge. This time Maria doesn't sidestep, instead blocking each and every punch the beaver throws at her with ease.

"Stop playing and fight back!" the beaver demands.

Maria complies. Deflecting a punch to one side, she counter-attacks with a straight gut punch. Before the beaver can react, Maria follows up with several more rapid punches before dropping and sweeping the beaver's legs from under him. Winded, the beaver slams hard into the tarmac, where he lies dazed and confused.

"What on Avalice?" the beaver asks himself as his senses return.

Standing over her defeated opponent, Maria extracts a loop of scarlet fabric from a pocket, unravelling the infinity scarf before placing it around her neck. Shen then looks at the beaver with an expression that asks 'Ready for round two?'.

"…OK, I admit it was just an accident," the beaver concedes sheepishly.

With a smile of satisfaction, Maria returns to the bikes. After severing both the fuel and brake lines on the beaver's bike, she finds those same lines have already been severed on her own. With neither bike fit for use, Maria reluctantly heads to the barrier. Perching herself on top, she watches as the beaver slowly gets up and limps away to lick his wounds. Only then does Maria decide to attend to her own wounds. Under the matted fur of her right shin and arm, she's relieved to find the only damage is some moderate grazing from the crash itself that has already stopped bleeding.

* * *

Maria watches the rest of the race from her barrier perch, her scarf back in her pocket, giving Carol a cheery wave as she passes by. Once the five-lap race is over, she gets a lift back to the paddock in the recovery vehicle dispatched to pick up stranded racers and their bikes. Once back at the paddock, she wheels her bike back to her allotted space next to Carol's.

"What happened?" Carol asks as Maria parks her bike. "Are you OK?"

Maria nods, but doesn't say anything, instead miming to explain she's unwilling to speak.

Carol then notices the bruising on Maria's throat. "Let me guess: ya tried to get pas' the beaver jus' after I did, and he turned in on you and took ya both out?"

Maria nods.

"And I'm guessin' he tried to strangle you?"

Maria points to her shoe as she mimes how the beaver held her down.

Carol shakes her head in disbelief. "Where is he now?"

Maria shrugs.

"He probably did a runner," Carol theorises. "Tell you what," she adds. "While you get checked at the medical centre, I'll fix your bike. Deal?"

Maria smiles, nods, then heads to the medical centre.


	8. Chapter 8

It doesn't take long for Maria to be discharged from the medical centre. Despite the severe bruising on her throat, there's no permanent damage, and she's able to talk without risking further injury so long as she drinks plenty of water. Relieved, Maria rejoins Carol in the paddock, where they finish the repairs to Maria's bike. They then head for lunch, during which Carol brings Maria up to speed with her race performance. Despite her best efforts, she wasn't able to catch the leading trio, and finished fourth.

After lunch and a quick cat-nap, and with the rain departed to make way for brilliant sunshine, Maria and Carol decide to watch the main race, a four-hour endurance contested by some of the fastest sports bikes in the three kingdoms. Rather than mingle with the crowds, they find a suitable tree to climb and perch in to watch the start, and also have a good view of the large screen showing the television broadcast.

Half an hour into the race, Carol sighs with melancholy. "Can I ask you somethin'?"

Maria takes a moment to notice. "Hm? Sorry, yeah, sure," she eventually responds, her voice husky and rough.

"Well…" Carol hesitates, unsure of whether to continue.

"Stop being a silly kitty and just ask," Maria assures.

"OK." Carol takes a deep breath. "Thing is, Lilac's been actin' all weird recently, talkin' about doin' the right thing, and I'm wonderin'… is bein' a Red Scarf really worth it?"

Maria pauses for thought. "I've never thought about being anything other than a Scarf," she admits. "The life I had before…" Maria pauses to gather herself. "Let's just say being a Red Scarf makes me a very happy kitty."

"Sure, it's fun and excitin'," Carol agrees, "but… are we doin' the right thing?"

"What do you mean?" Maria asks, confused. "Also, why Lilac now?"

"Dunno," Carol answers. "One day she jus' decided that she's not Sash anymore, she's Lilac." Carol then takes a moment to organise her thoughts. "I think she's havin' a crisis of conscience or somethin'."

"Over what?"

"About the, y'know, _darker_ side of the Scarves."

"Oh…"

"Yeah…"

"Well, the way I see it, there's some really nasty icky people in the world, and sometimes there's only one solution," Maria opines.

"I know what you mean, but…" Carol tails off.

"You can tell me," Maria assures.

"Jus' between you and me, right?"

"Pinkie swear."

"OK." Carol pauses a moment. "Lilac's thinkin' about leavin' the Scarves, and given the choice between bein' a Scarf and bein' with my best friend… I'd choose my best friend."

"Ah." Maria thinks for a moment. "I guess I'm lucky that my best friend enjoys being a Scarf so much she'll never leave the guild."

"What do you think I should do?" Carol asks.

"I know what I'd do," Maria replies. "But then I'm not you."

"That doesn't really help much."

"Sorry."

"S'OK."

The girls sit in silence for a few moments.

"Whatever you decide, don't rush into it," Maria advises. "You don't want to be rash and regret it."

"Of course," Carol agrees.


End file.
